… the brain scanners get to work on “liberals vs. conservatives.” In “Republicans Have Bad Brains?” (Townhall, May 3, 2012 ), Jonah Goldberg offers,
“They do that because they were born that way.”
If you say that about homosexuals, you are tolerant and realistic. If you say it about blacks, you are racist (unless you’re black yourself). If you say it about women, you may or may not be sexist, depending on who is manning (er, womanning) the feminist battle stations. If you say it about men, you just might be a writer for Esquire. But if you say it about conservatives, you’re a scientist.
Over the past decade, a new fad has taken hold among academics and liberal journalists: call it the new science of conservative phrenology. No, it doesn’t actually involve using calipers to determine intelligence based on the size and shape of people’s heads. The measuring devices are better — MRIs and gene sequencers — but the conclusions are worse. The gist is this: Conservatives and liberals don’t just have different world views or ideas, they have different brains; the right and left are just hard-wired to think differently.
Author Chris Mooney compiles much of this research for his new book The Republican Brain, which purports to show that conservatives are, literally by nature, more closed-minded and resistant to change and facts. His evidence includes the fact that conservatives are less likely to buy into global warming, allegedly proving they are not only “anti-science” but innately anti-fact, as well.
Well, there are facts … and then, in Chris Mooney’s world, there are Facts. Lower case facts are what we must all live with, or shrink and maybe die. Upper case Facts must be true because someone’s worldview and fortunes depend on them.
See also: Liberal fascism: An Introduction (Goldberg’s analysis of what fascism actually means: Not jackboots; they are uncool. Today’s fascists are usually nice, well-meaning people who want to run your life; spikes, stilettos, etc. are optional accessories. “Run your life” isn’t optional. It’s the program.)